Do Not Go Gentle
by jbg2
Summary: Black Widow's time has come, so why can't Hawkeye take the kill shot?
1. Chapter 1

I loved the Hawkeye/Blackwidow angle in Avengers. This is just one possibility to how he was sent to kill her and couldn't. I was listening to Eric Whitacre's Sleep as I wrote it. If you have never listened to it, it's on Youtube. Go check it out!

**Do Not Go Gentle**

By: JBG

Disclaimer: Don't own Avengers or Dylan Thomas's poem. Please don't sue

The streets in Manali were packed with peddlers and pushers. Traffic wasn't too heavy considering the area, though most of it was on foot. Scarves mostly dotted the street below, making her bright red Shirley Temple curls stand out like a laser dot on the marked woman she was.

Dead woman walking.

Widow traded a little, hustling down this back alley and that. These were perfect places to take her out; sparsely populated, open terrain. Very easy to escape after the kill.

Yes, this is it.

Breathe in. Breathe out. Bow drawn taut, guiding hand with thumb on cheek, arrow shaft locked in place, arrow head sharp as a dagger.

The kill would be quick. The kill would be clean.

"Do it, Hawkeye," He whispered to himself.

So why did he hesitate? He wondered the same thing. Hawkeye sat atop his perch…waiting. The roof had adequate cover but the wind slightly shifted directions. Passer-by traffic picked up, and the opportune moment was gone. Again.

He cocked his head back and hastily raked a hand through his hair. Was he loosing it?

Hawkeye didn't know. He was a trained killer, but so was she.

Still, he could have taken her out five times over already, so why hadn't he? He couldn't figure out this question either. Something was so wrong about this.

Perhaps because she was a woman? No. They were harder, but she wouldn't be his first.

Perhaps because this was so easy. Too easy.

She was evil. There was no doubt about it. Her latest massacre was a hospital fire. She had to be dealt with.

The red head turned in his direction. Hawkeye ducked behind a low ledge, waiting. After a few seconds, he risked a glance.

If she knew he was there, she made no indication.

Black Widow scuttled away from the busy vendors to more isolated streets with wider side alleys.

The buildings were further apart, but still close enough for Hawkeye to jump to from roof top to roof top. Still, if she kept this up, she might get away.

Why did that thought comfort him?

Facing away on the street, she went until she stopped and sighed, shoulders heaving. With a small shake of her head, she came to a decision about something and ducked into an abandoned alley way.

But her place wasn't here. He knew. He had been watching her for two days now. Was she accepting another assignment? Perhaps.

There would be no opportunity as clean as this one.

Complete abandonment. Gift wrapped, signed, sealed, delivered.

Coming in on the nearest rooftop possible, Hawkeye's muscles stretched their familiar ways as he stood tall. He was closer to her, even on this rooftop, as he had been all day. His arrow was aimed, orders were orders, and she had her back to him. It would be over before she knew it, even if she did turn around. The thought that he didn't have to see her bare her soul was eerily comforting.

So much easier than what was explained to him…

It was almost as if she wanted to die.

The fingers that had already started to release the taut string faltered.

The assassin's head rose inquisitively away from his weapon. Never had a mark so begged for death. Had she delivered herself to lure him into a trap? What an idiot had he been?

Hawkeye swept his weapon to the left and to the right, not finding anything amiss. He could see no trap.

Black Widow, all but forgotten a moment before, stood still, waiting.

Hawkeye, as in a trance, lowered the weapon a fraction.

"What are you waiting for?" She spoke as to herself, but he was close enough that it was loud enough for him to hear. Hands that were previously shoved in her pockets were slowly withdrawn. "Are you toying with me, or do you simply refuse to shoot me in the back?"

With his bow back at the ready, Hawkeye's eyes darted around the perimeter.

Deep breathing and slow turning, the Black Widow finally peered up at him. Her angel of death. No surprise shown in her wide, sparkling eyes and only sadness laced her voice.

Hawkeye's steady hand shook slightly. He had orders. He had never defied orders…You did not relent on kill orders.

The Black Widow's hands opened and clenched as she defiantly raised her chin. "Do it, please." Her voice hitched, cracking. As her eyes closed reflexively, a single tear raced down her cheek. She forcefully wiped it away. "I deserve this. I knew someone would come for me. After what happe….No…. After what I've done or allowed, I've decided to quit. I deserve this."

Long beats of time passed before she reopened her eyes.

Hawkeye stood with bow by his side. He didn't know what to make of her. Just like her blood red curly doll hair, she had tainted her innocence, but it was still there somewhere.

"You have to be like, the worst assassin ever." She quipped.

Hawkeye cracked a grin, looking down at his feet. "I won't kill you."

She shook her head at the sky, throwing up her hands. "Why, because I'm a woman?"

Did he know why? And then, the epiphany came as she stared back at him. "Because you're me, before I joined Shield."

Awkward pause aside, she settled for nervously rubbing her neck. His gaze was too intense and she had to look away, almost nervously. "You know there'll be others. I turned down a contract just this week. I know too much and they know I'm finished with this. You'd be doing me a favor."

His posture regained its strength and he pulled himself to his full stance."Seeing as it was my mission to take you out, I'll guarantee you'll live to see the sunset. Besides, reading your file, I think you can handle yourself ….Meet me, tomorrow at the Kullu International Airport. Seven a.m. flight. Jet Blue."

Her eyebrows knitted together as she shook her head and tried to figure out the puzzle." But, why?"

"Got a job for you, if you're interested. We protect people from others, like ourselves. Our former selves. Give yourself a chance to clean up some past, get a little rest, a little more peaceful sleep." He spoke slowly toward the last and inclined his head toward her as he popped the 'p'. An understanding passed between them. There were two kinds of killers, after all. The heartless kind, and the kind that had fitful, horrible dreams from all the past violence and death they had seen or caused. She knew now, for sure, that he had seen her sleep. He must have had the same dreams. She started to believe he was telling the truth as to why he couldn't kill her.

The Black Widow took a long, slow breath. "I just don't know if I can do that. You know. Same job, different employer."

His smirk caught her by surprise. "Listen, Widow. "

"Natasha," She slipped, before she could stop herself. She kind of liked this guy. He made her feel as if she wasn't the only one bearing this horrible burden.

Black Hawk looked away, fully smiling now. "Natasha, all you can control is you." And this time, when he looked back at her, his stare pinned her to the ground. "You have a very specialized skill set. You could be useful, cause a lot of good. Just come see what it's about. I can always kill you later, if you prefer it that way….But you don't want your life to end this way, with this legacy, do you? Do not go gentle…. Anyway, sleep on it,"

And with that, he turned around.

"I didn't catch your name."

He simply waved without looking back. If he did have to kill her in the end, it would be better to be attached as little as possible. Of course, he was kidding himself. If he didn't already like her, she'd already be dead.

"Don't be late, Natasha. Sweet dreams."

…..The End…

Love it. Hate it? I'm thinking about continuing it. Please review. Can't get better without constructive criticism!


	2. Chapter 2

AN: Nervous but interested. Uncharted territory.

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

Chapter 2

Bhuntai International was painfully small as far as international airports go. It consisted only of one large, two-story rectangular building made with glass paneling for easy runway viewing. Everyone loaded and unloaded planes directly on the tarmac.

Hawkeye leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, one leg bent with a single carry-on bag beside his all-terrain boots, his dark sunglasses not covering the scowl between his eyes.

That's how she found him.

Pulling her shades off, she looked at him from head to toe. She looked slightly pleased with herself.

"Made me wait long enough, did you?"

"I'm here aren't I?" She replied easily, glancing at her watch. 9:00a.m. "And I am sorry about that. I had some last minute business to attend to. Set my house in order, that sort of thing."

Hawkeye raised his eyebrows but said nothing. Set her house in order? What, was she, 23, 24?

"So, you taking me to your place, or what?" She wore a sly smile. He had to watch himself with that one. She was too easy to fall for. After all, it was what she does/did for a living. And seeing as he hadn't killed her for the last three nights, there was nothing wrong with her self-preservation skills.

She tilted her head, flirtatiously. "I wasn't sure how I would find you as you didn't give me your name."

Hawkeye nodded. Something felt off. Gone was the repentant, humble girl of yesterday. "But find me, you did."

Natasha sighed. "Have it your way."

Clint held out. It was silly, in all reality, to hold something so simple from her as his code name. But he didn't trust her, even if he saved her, and he knew she wouldn't have a problem finding him in this airport. Any distance he could still maintain, though symbolic, was monumental.

Widow shrugged. "Akward. So, we should be…going?"

"Yes we should." Clint pushed off the wall, retrieving his bag in one smooth motion.

Natasha looked around. No known commercial names were on the runway. "Jet Blue, Huh?"

"Well, it says Jet on the side and it's blue."

"Wonderful."

"Didn't want to scare you off before you started."

"Just in case coming to kill me with arrows and not bullets didn't do the trick?"

"Touché," Hawkeye admitted, exiting the building.

Natasha followed him, halted, and looked around. The Kullu airport had a breathtaking view…of mountains on a grand scale in every direction… which might be great for sightseeing, but not so great for trying to take off in a plane. And the run way was a single.

"Nervous?" He asked, after seeing she had stopped.

"I've flown worse." She replied, recovering.

Hawkeye nodded. "Glad to hear it, co-pilot"

"I've never flown a plane that big."

Hawkeye sized her up with a toothy grin and matching dimples. "You're about to get a crash course in flying the friendly skies."

Nat swallowed. For an assassin, she looked pretty shaken. "That's what I'm afraid of."

Hawkeye tried not to laugh at her unease. He was truly being mean. "Look, I could make a penguin fly. You're safe with me. Besides, I do most of the work."

Widow was behind him one moment, scuttling past him the next. "Ummm, FB who refuses to tell me his name, whatever we're going to do, we better do it fast. We've got bigger problems coming."

"FB?" Hawkeye asked as he followed her trail of vision. Careening down the steep banks of the winding road was what looked like_ all_ the police force of Manali.

"Free Bird"

Hawkeye picked up his pace. "Widow, what did you do?"

"Didn't show up for work. Emptied a few bank accounts. Burned some documents. Standard get out of the business stuff. Word gets around. It'd be safer to talk in the sky."

Hawkeye nodded. "Straight ahead."

The last person was descending the plane as Hawkeye motioned Natasha up the steep stairs.

"Thanks Nigel," He replied, slipping some bills in the hand of the last worker who maneuvered the stairs away from the plane as soon as Hawk was aboard.

"We're hijacking this?"

"We're borrowing it for government purposes for an extremely long time."

"The American government didn't have an escape plan that didn't involve grand theft airplane?"

Cliff removed his sunglass so she could read his expression. Widow backed away. "Actually, it did, but I can't go to my extraction point. I was watching you last night, and, as you are still alive, I missed my extraction team. We're on the radar, and I disobeyed orders, so I can't call in favors before I contact SHIELD and explain."

Natasha diverted her eyes, really silent for a moment... There was the girl from the street.

Clint left her speechless to strap in and start the pre-flight checks.

"It's nice of the Kullu people to loan us a plane," she whispered, buckling into the co-pilot seat.

"Yes, yes it is." Hawkeye paused, sparing her a glance. "How did you know I was with the American government?"

Natasha snorted while threading her eyebrows. What she was about to say was lost in translation as an explosion hit the side of the terminal. The Calvary had arrived, and they were not fans.

"Later." Clint said, still flicking switches.

"Hopefully," Widow muttered, starting to rock. She had skipped her medicine all week. While this lead to moments of increased clarity and reality, it also came with potent side effects. Among them, increased anxiety.

Another explosion, just missing the building.

"Now or never" Hawkeye started the plane in motion down the run way.

Natasha glanced back to see the airport officials running out of the burning building.

Government vehicles bounced on the runway, their rocket launchers having an improved chance at accuracy with the diminishing distance. She did note, however, that these were regular police, not highly trained spies.

"Hold on." Clint bellowed, pulling back on the stick. The plane soared in the air.

The assent was steep and harrowing. Rocks in the cliffs just below the plane's altitude exploded, creating a temporary smoke screen for the escaping plane.

Widow was glad that police were close enough to follow her and not the official arm of the government she served. Otherwise, they would be dead or the shooter who missed would have been. These men weren't innocent, but neither was she and she didn't want any more death attributed to the cause._ Mother_ didn't care who she trampled on.

Mother Russia, an archaic word for the former Solviet Union. Still, Natasha found that old habits and nicknames die hard. Just like her.

When they had cleared the rocks, Hawkeye leveled the plane and slumped against the seat.

Natasha released a shaky breath she couldn't remember holding.

"That was close." Clint scoffed.

"That was nothing compared to what's coming."

"What?"

"Look. I'm sorry. I should have just let you shoot me. I can't think straight right now. I can't believe we made it this far."

"Hey," Hawkeye looked toward the troubled woman. "Widow," and then, "Natasha," just to get her attention. "We got away."

Natasha shut her eyes, shaking her head. Slowly, she massaged her temples.

"This isn't the first time I've tried to leave, you know."

Clint looked at her as long as he dared, still piloting the plane. Gone was the confident woman at the airport. She was as pale and shaking. "I offered you sanctuary. I'm not innocent and I'm not easy to kill. I know what I got myself into."

"Maybe, if you had the help of your government. But face it. If you're acting solo, we're as good as dead. Just put the plane really close to the river, open the cargo bay doors, and I'll be off your conscious."

Hawkeye shook his head, gluing his attention to the spread in front of him, hugging the river. "If I don't take you back, I have to kill you personally." He didn't relish the thought.

"You must have a death wish."

"Quite the contrary." He smirked, now refusing to look her way. " I think I'll stick around and see what develops. Keeping you alive is getting interesting. Besides, it's good that you ran. I don't know about you, but I'd rather be dead than caged."

Natasha breathed deeply. Freedom. How Quaint.

"Okay, free bird."

Hawkeye laughed. She didn't know how close she was getting.

...to be continued.


End file.
